90-foot wheel closes after two weeks and about 5,000 riders

People of all ages stood in line for one last ride on the downtown attraction that lit up Spartanburg's skyline at night with a rainbow of lights for the past two weeks.

By Jenny Arnoldjennifer.arnold@shj.com

People of all ages stood in line for one last ride on the downtown attraction that lit up Spartanburg's skyline at night with a rainbow of lights for the past two weeks.The 90-foot Wheel of Lights and Inspiration, or WOLI, also known as a Ferris wheel, spun about 5,000 riders into the sky from Aug. 14 to closing day, Sunday, said city of Spartanburg spokesman Will Rothschild. The ride was sponsored by a private donor.For part of Sunday, families could bat beach balls over a net, play a giant chess game set up on Spring Street or get a hat made out of balloons for added fun at WOLI.At 8:30 p.m., there was a line of riders still waiting for their chance."We were all here on the first night and we wanted to make sure we caught it one last time," said Kelly Gilbert, who brought her three children — Nicholas, Hunter, and Sage — and some of their friends to ride Sunday night. "I think it's cool. It gets people downtown."Nicholas Gilbert rode it once and said it felt "rickety" as he waited at the top for other riders to board that first night, so he sat out Sunday night's ride."I liked the colors, though," he said."It made for a different skyline," Kelly Gilbert said.Ashley Scruggs and her sister, Kellie Scruggs, brought their children to ride WOLI for the first time on the last night. Both moms stood on the sidelines as the five kids — Jermaine, Skylar, Ja'Maya, Jacie and Jaliah — waited in line.Ashley Scruggs said her 89-year-old grandmother urged her to take the children downtown for a ride, although she was unable to ride herself."She's more excited about it than they are," Ashley said.Both the Scruggs and Gilbert said they brought their children downtown last winter to the ice skating rink, another first for downtown Spartanburg. Both families said they'll gladly return downtown for more ice skating or Ferris wheel rides. Ice skating is returning this winter, but Rothschild said he wasn't sure if WOLI would take another spin in the city.As her children waited in line, Ashley Scruggs gazed up and watched WOLI's lights change colors while the sun went down."This is really nice," she said. "Anything for the kids, we do it."

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